my scattered thoughts on twinage

 sleeping princes, their first week home

 family of 5 at Costco.  we are officially now "that family."  you know the one, 2 carts, 3 kids, lots of diapers, always in the way.  yep, that's us :)

 "T-bone" and "B-bop" in their sweet handmade outfits complements of Sierra and Sumer.  

Yoga pants for babies!

 Daddy and little Theo

 I don't think my back can take the full load, but I was impressed with myself that I got them both 

in the Moby by myself.

 4 of our 5 birthdays are now in March so we celebrated with a little fondue a few weeks ago.

Right after Jackson was born, Tim and I celebrated 4 years of marriage at the Melting Pot.  Time flies!

It was Jackson's first experience with the delight of melted chocolate 

one month old!

twinage update
The twins are 6 weeks old and things have been going better than we expected.  the past couple weeks have been a little harder, however, and we are feeling pretty worn out.  I don't know if you know this, but twins are a lot of work!  Well worth it, but a lot of work.

Here are a few of my reflections this week:
+  I am so thankful for friends who bring over meals.  (SO thankful)  (SO THANKFUL!!!)
+  Sometimes I feel like I will never sleep again, but I know I will...eventually.
+  Showers are a luxury.
+  I miss my husband.  I see him all the time, but I miss actually getting to talk to him about anything other than time-outs, poo, and bottle parts.
+  I truly appreciate those who have come to our rescue to help us make this transition to a family of 5.
+  Sometimes medication helps more than you know :)
+  There is nothing like having twins to remind you of your frailty.

How we are doing.

Baby Beck

Our boys.

The boys are a month old, so how are we doing? Aside from being more tired that I though possible, pretty good. I did not know just how busy it would be to have twin infants and a toddler but it's crazy busy. There is no time for anything other than taking care of the boys. We change diapers, feed them, try to clean the house, and go to bed as soon as possible, only to do it all again the next day. People have helped us and without that help, we'd be going a little nuts. Heidi's Mom has been spending two nights a week at our house so I can sleep while she takes the overnight feeding. Both of my sisters have spent time helping out, and many other friends have been bringing meals or coming to hold babies or amuse Jackson. We are so grateful to everyone for their help. These boys are a blessing and we thank God for giving them to us.

Baby Teddy

 

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

So, I am two days late on this post. Heidi's birthday was on Sunday but I was just too busy to write something. I had no idea how busy we would be with twin infants and a two year old but it's pretty darn busy. Anyway, I am so blessed to be married to the attractive, wise, and funny Heidi Chase. She is a fantastic Mom as well. I love you, baby.

Here are some more pictures of the kids.

Eliah Showers was one of the first to meet the boys.

Jackson is not normally this happy at bedtime.

Theodore sleeping. He does that a lot.

 

first professional pictures

At the hospital, they come by and take some pics of the babies when they are 1 day old and then they offer to sell them to you at ridiculous prices.  I figured, sure take the pics, but there's no way I am buying them at those crazy prices.  Well.....she got some pretty cute ones, so I did end up breaking my "budget rules" and Ie ended up buying a couple.

 Beckett's on top, hugging Theodore :)

Beckett and Theodore

More pictures!

The proud big brother.

Theodore needed to be warmed up.

Our friend Sierra made these shirts. What's the good of having twins if you don't dress them alike?

Just an hour or so old.

 and 

baby boys!!

We are so pleased to announce that Beckett Jameson and Theodore Duncan entered this world at 8:57 and 8:58am this morning!  Weighing 7lbs, 4 oz and 6lbs, 12oz.  14 lbs of baby!

  and  

He makes the man before He makes the ministry

Warning:  This is a long blog post....But soon, I imagine, many of our posts will be pictures of the twins.  So, for those you who read this, bear with us!  Put in the work now, and soon you can enjoy the pictures :)

Well, the time has come.  Only 1 more day until these babies make their entrance to the outside world!  I feel like there is still a lot to do, but it's not going to get done and that's OK.  I hope my dad wanted twin grandsons for his birthday present, b/c that's what he's getting!  Dad is actually having prostate surgery this Wednesday as well so it's going to be a day to remember in our family.  Please keep us all in your prayers, especially my dad and the twins.  I am a little nervous about the C-section, but thankfully, God is in control!  

Here's one last prego pic for ya, this is about 36 weeks.  I think this picture makes me look pretty good, 

I am fairly confident that I look larger in person :)

The past few months have been a blur.  We found out in October at 20 weeks that we were expecting twin boys, we found a house we wanted to buy about a month later and about a month after that, we moved.  Just after moving, we found out about Dad's cancer (prostate and bone) and well, in about 35 hours, we are going to be a family of 5!  When it rains, it pours, eh?

Tim and I were having a "heart to heart" the other night (we're trying to be intentional about connecting with each other right now before things really get crazy :) and we ended up reflecting on the past couple years.  There has been a lot of change.  For most of our married life, things seemed to move ridiculously slowly and then, just like that, they kicked into hyper-speed.  

Half of the time, when I think about it, it almost seems like I am living someone else's life.  Where did this house come from?  I have how many children?  Did you just say twins?  I drive a minivan now?  What is going on here and when did I move "home" from Africa?  Oh wait, I never left...  

Up until October, Tim and I were still fairly heart-broken, still in the midst of learning painful lessons about truly, legitimately trusting in God in ALL things when we were suddenly catapulted into a season of preparation for something we never saw coming...twins!  (In case this isn't assumed, I want to also say that we are SO excited about these babies!  I am thrilled to be blessed of God to be able to bring two little people into the world at the same time.  What an honor.  Tim and I cannot wait to add two more sons of righteousness to our family!)

That said, whose life is this?  I am pretty sure the life I "picked" had more to do with sitting on a thatched mat, sharing the Gospel in another language while drinking attaya (West African tea).  Thing is, I gave up that right to "pick" my life a long time ago.  Praise be to God.  I may not feel like I hand selected the life I'm living right now, but I have never been more certain that the One who did pick it, did a perfect job.  He knows me better than I know myself  

We may still feel wounded over the change in direction that God has lead us to, but soon these wounds will heal and then they will become scars.  They'll be scars that tell our story of heartbreak, trust, obedience, perseverance, redemption and restoration.  That's how God works.  He is leading us on a path of righteousness and He is making the man (and woman) before He makes the ministry.

Yesterday, we heard a great sermon on the troubles of life and our ability to overcome.  I love it when ministers preach out of Job.  There is so much great stuff in there.  It's heavy, but personally I think the Church could use a little more heavy.  I was blessed by the reminder that God only allows us to face trials that we can handle.

Tim and I are learning that as the restoration process begins, that's when the fire really heats up.  Thankfully, I think we are learning well from the past 2 years and are facing up to the trials at hand with greater faith and perseverance.  This I know:  God is good and God is true and you can believe His word.  

Peace,  

2011: And we're off!

What a month.  A little over weeks ago my dad was admitted to Abbott NW Hospital and was diagnosed with prostate and bone cancer.  Wowza.  That's almost enough bad news to send a lady into labor.  Almost, but not quite.

He has started radiation treatment and will soon start chemotherapy.  He has remained in good spirits and I think my family is dealing with everything fairly well, all things considered.  We covet your prayers though.  His oncologist is optimistic and we rejoice in knowing that God is in control.  While I am doing my best to avoid thinking about it, this news has hit me rather hard.  My dad and I are close and he has been a HUGE source of strength to me over the years.

This is the man who has always had a word of encouragement for me.  Who has always had a word that has spoken directly to my heart when I needed it most.  As I have struggled with chronic pain over the last almost 7+ years, my dad has been the rock that I needed time and time again.  He has been my strength and hope for healing and restoration at times when I had no strength to hope or believe for healing.  I praise God for a godly father and look forward to many more years with him, seeing him pour into my sons as he has poured into me and my brother.  Good fathers can be hard to find.  Thank you for your prayers.

In other news, I had my first contraction last week.  I think it was just a warning:  either slow down or get ready!  Since I am not ready quite yet, I am choosing (theoretically) to slow down.  At least Dad is out of the hospital now, I really wanted to wait until he was out before I went in.  Since my mom was going to be my primary source of help, other than Tim, with the twins, the news of chemo has rocked my little family a bit.  We are resting in the knowledge that God knows and apparently He thinks we can handle all this.  So....I guess we can.  Pray for us!

I am 36 weeks along tomorrow and it looks probable that the twins will come next week, one way or another.  I will keep you posted!

a January update in pictures

Tim and I were so thankful to have friends who were willing to help us move on New Year's Eve.  Here's a few pictures of all the work they did.

We had no idea how much stuff we had until we filled up a 26' truck.  Yikes!  I am pretty sure it was all baby stuff......

Peter and Julie moving my beautiful, "old lady" couch that everyone hates.  I love it!  Too bad we had to cut the legs off to get it in the house....

Stan was a rockstar fitting everything into the van with expertise.  Stan in my favorite!

Since Jackson's birthday was right before we moved, we waited a few more days to celebrate after we moved and then took him to Nicolodeon Universe.  We had a couple mystery tickets and one of them had 100 points!  We only used about 30 before it was bedtime, so we blessed another family with the rest of the tickets.  It was pretty fun giving them away and seeing the look on the little ones faces.  

It was his first time on rides and he loved them!

I was only able to go on 2 of the rides with him, but it was pretty fun to see him enjoying himself so much.   

We ate at McDonald's before the rides, which was a big hit, as always....

I also tried my hand at cake decorating and make Jackson a puppy cake.  From the look on his face, I think he liked it.  Or maybe it was the roomful of people singing to him and clapping for him that produced such joy!  We are so blessed to have this sweet little boy as a part of our family, I can't imagine life without him.  He has brought so much joy to us these past 2 years.  Happy 2nd birthday, love!

here's the belly!

For those of you I haven't seen in a while, here's a recent shot of the twin belly.  

This is about 31 weeks.  Wow.  I know.

I wanted to post a pic of when I was 30 weeks with Jackson, but our internet is still sketchy, so maybe next week.  Believe me when I say I am way bigger!

Pictures of the new house coming soon....

Happy New Year!

We haven't posted in over a month - forgive us!  We've been a little busy :)  The move to our new house was a great success thanks to a crew of wonderful friends and family.  We don't recommend moving on New Year's Eve, but all in all, it turned out great.  The crazy weather didn't start until everything was unloaded and we only had to cut the legs off of one piece of furniture.  Thankfully, Tim's sister Sally was able to successfully re-attach them.

We've been here about 2 1/2 weeks so far and things are coming together little by little.  Tim has been amazing and spends every evening getting little projects done and helping me do all the things I am no longer supposed to do.  Like sweeping or vacuuming or lifting anything.  Hm, what does that leave, you ask?  Not much except for cooking.  With the twins coming in a little over a month and my energy dwindling fast, we are motivated to get this place ready!  My mom's group blessed us with a work day today and let me say that 5 ladies on a mission (plus me and 3 little ones) is a force to be reckoned with.

To say we are thankful or that we feel greatly blessed of the Lord doesn't even come close to truly expressing our emotions over having a place to call our very own again.  Maybe saying that we are completely overwhelmed with the goodness of God's plan for us comes a little closer to the truth, but it still doesn't really cut it.  God has been good to us, He is showing us His faithful hand of provision day by day and we are working hard not to miss it.

The theme at our church for last year was restoration.  It brings a smile to my face and renewed faith to my soul as I consider that we moved into our new home on the very last day of 2010.

God is always good and God is never late.

The pressure's on

For a few years now, Tim and I have felt a sense of homelessness.  We felt it even when we were still living in the duplex.  It never truly felt like home and we never really settled in b/c we knew we would be moving on from there shortly.  The places we have lived over that past few years have always felt transitional, especially as we were prepared our hearts to receive Senegal as home.

Here we are, on the cusp of moving into a real home, a place that will be ours, where we can raise our boys and settle in.  The mere thought of that reality truly overwhelms my heart.  I want to settle in and cultivate a home my family so badly I can taste it.

Yet almost from the moment our offer was accepted and the purchase agreement signed, the enemy has been trying very hard to steal our joy in this process.  The hits just keep on coming, from stressful family situations to major health insurance problems to hefty car repairs.  All with Christmas and Jackson's 2nd birthday around the corner as well!

I don't think it's any coincidence that as we are ready to launch into an exciting new season of our life together, Tim and I are struggling to make sense of some of our circumstances.  The Lord was faithful to remind me this afternoon that it was He who established the earth and it is He who sustains us.  Who do I trust in, my bank account or my Savior?  I can't control any of these situations and quite frankly, I feel very out of control and powerless these days.  But He is faithful and He will be faithful to us and will provide all that we need.    

We have a friend who often says that God makes the man before He makes the ministry.  We may have stayed home from the mission field, but we are still living in expectation of a powerful and annointed ministry.  So, it looks like God is "making us" into what we need to be b/c it sure feels like the fire is being turned up a notch.  Praise be to God!

excitement is mounting...

Can I just say that I am really excited to meet these little boys that are inside my belly?!  I can't wait to kiss their sweet little cheeks and snuggle them.....oh, baby love.

Oh MN, how you disappoint me.

I must be a little out of things, b/c I finally just heard that Dayton won the gubernatorial race in MN last week.  Not that I loved Emmer, b/c I did not, but Dayton's plans for our state are frightening.

Well, MN, you disappoint me once again with your severe lack of care for both the unborn and for the middle class.  Sigh.  Tax the rich, kill babies, pour more money into schools that aren't working, and start state run casinos.  Wowza.

At least my God is in control.  Praise be to God!

the name game

December already, time flies.  Especially when you are busy.  Tim and I continue to struggle with settling on names for these 2 treasures in my belly.  We have actually been talking boy names since Jackson was born, since his was difficult.  Girl names are easy for us, but not names for little princes.  You'd think 2 years would be long enough to decide.  If you have any good ideas, let us know!  We have one picked out, but #2 is proving tricky.  Happy Advent season!